Trucks, and in particular pick-up trucks, are used as work vehicles in many industries. Aftermarket truck body building companies customize standardized pick-up trucks to include many different adaptations such as tool boxes, cages, cranes, fuel or water tanks, and many other devices may be attached.
One potential problem with aftermarket modifications is that the truck bed may be modified to allow overloading the rear axle. If heavy articles such as tool boxes or tanks are positioned too far rearward in the truck bed, the ride characteristics, steering and stability can be adversely affected. Water can become entrained in the vehicle fuel tank due to filler and breather locations being improperly oriented. The vehicle differential can also be adversely affected.
Several different pick-up truck body styles are provided including a single cab, an extended cab and a crew cab. Each body style is generally provided on the same frame and, as a result, the length of the truck bed is shorter with an extended cab and even shorter with a crew cab. Generally, the shorter the truck bed the more likely excessive loading will occur over the rear axle and behind the center of gravity of the vehicle. Larger cabs have less space available behind the cab and in front of the center of gravity of the vehicle.
The above problems and other problems are addressed by this disclosure as summarized below.